Vacuum-tube lighting.



D. MOP. MOORE. VACUUM TUBE LIGHTING.

APPLIGATION FILED MAY 8, 1906.

Patented July 16, 1912.

WITNESSES INVENTOR Da cf 277C921" [am 777001'6 BY MM ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL MOFARLAN MOORE, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

VACUUM-TUBE LIGHTING.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatl, DANIEL MCFARLAN Moons, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, with POSt-OlfiCG address 52 Laurence street, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vacuum-Tube Lighting, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to those systems or apparatus for electric lighting in which the source of light is a luminous gas or vapor contained in a glass tube 'and excited to luminosity by high potential electric energy through the medium of suitable electrodes located respectively at opposite ends of the tube.

My present invention has reference more particularly to the manner of installing and supplying energy to the tubes when it is desired to employ a number of such tubes ar-. ranged end to end to produce the effect of a long line of light.

A further object of the invention is at the same time to avoid any objections to the use of the system due to the fact that high potentials are employed for exciting the gas or vapor to luminosity.

A further object of the invention is to avoid the necessity of disposing the tube in such manner as to form a loop for the purpose of bringing the two electrodes or terminals of the tube together in a single dangenproof box.

Briefly stated, my invention consists in the combination with a series of vacuum tubes arranged end to end with their contiguous ends inclosed in danger-proof boxes or casings, high potential energy supplying conductors running through said boxes and connections taken in multiple from said conductors to the tube electrodes within said boxes.

The invention consists further in the combination of a series of protective boxes or inclosures, series of vacuum tubes extending from box to box, high potential energy supplying conductors contained in a suitable conduit or conduits running from box to box and connections in multiple from said conductors to the energy transferring electrodes of the tubes within said boxes.

The invention consists further in the special combinations of apparatus hereinafter described and then specified in the claims.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 8, 1906. Serial No. 315,726.

rammed July 16, 1912.

In Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings I have shown my invention in a diagrammatic way as carried out by the use of a series of tubes disposed in a straight line. Fig. 2 shows the tubes disposed in a different manner and some of them formed as curved tubes. Fig. 3 illustrates a modification in the manner of running the glass portion of the tubesout of a box or inclosure in which their contiguous ends are located. Fig. 4 is a detail of the form of valve which may be used, the magnet being removed.

In carrying out my invention the energy transferring electrodes for the purpose may be either internal or external electrodes, that is to say, they may be of proper character to permit the transfer of the energy to take place by direct contact of the electrode with the gas or vapor within the tube or to permit the energy to be transferred by olectrd static action as well understood in the art. The energy itself may be alternating electric energy or other form as may be desired.

It will also be obvious from the subjoined description that the tubes may be disposed or formed to give the effect of a straight line of light or that its direction may change or follow any desired path, either by change in the direction in which straight tubes project from the series of boxes or by curving or varying the path or direction of the tube itself between boxes.

By the use of my present invention, vacuum tube lighting may be employed satisfactorily in any situation where it is desired to have a long line of light practically continuous, either for decorative purposes or for the purpose of more thoroughly dit'fus ing or distributing the illumination from any given source of energy or for any given amount of power.

Referring to Fig. 1, I show at 3 a series of protective boxes or inclosures which may be each of the construction described in my prior Patent #702,320, dated June 10th, 1902 or of any other suitable construction .so as to constitute an inclosure and protection for the leading-in wires and metallic portions of the terminals of the vacuum tubes whose ends are located in said boxes, while the glass portion only of the tubes project therefrom.

1 indicates the VtlCllllIIl tubes themselves extending from box to box as shown and provided With suitable internal or other electrodes 2. Extending also from box to box is a suitable insulating conduit 4 carrying a pair of insulated electric conductors 5, 5 which furnish energy to a potential depending upon the length of the tubes, the nature of the gas and other conditions. The conduit 4 may be made in sections, said sections terminating in the walls of the boxes 3, by which said sections are coupled together. The electrodes of the juxtaposed ends of the tubes are connected in multiple to the supply wires or conductors'5 within the boxes as shown. As will be seen, eflicient protection is afforded for all metallic portions of the system against danger from the presence of high potential wires or conductors. The unit tubes of the system are of substantially the same length so as to each demand potential of the same amount. The dimension of each box or inclosure 3 in the direction of the connected series of tubes is preferably made as small as possible when the tubes project in opposite directions from the box in the manner shown in Fig. 1 so as to take away as little as possible from the visual effect of a continuous line of tube lighting. The tubes. however, might project from the box side by side in the manner illustrated in Fig. 3 or in any other desired manner. The conductors 5 may receive their electric energy from any desired source, as for instance, from a transformer whose secondary is connected to said wires or may be obtained from any other source desired and of a character suitable for operating the tubes.

In Fig. 2 the tubes are shown arranged or disposed so as to produce a tube or line of light forming an oblong or substantially rectangular figure instead of a straight line of light as in Fig. 1. Some of the tubes as illustrated in Fig. 2 are bent between the boxes. Many other modifications in the disposition or arrangement of the tubes when disposed in a series end to end are obviously permissible without departing from my invention. Obviously also my system may be safely installed with energy of any desired potential, and the length of the tube extending from the inclosure wherein connection is made to the energy transferring electrode may be anything desired within the limits of the potential employed and the conductivity of the gas or vapor within the tube.

12 indicates electromagnets connected into the circuits of the-tubes and employed for feeding air or gas into the tube upon any increase of vacuum. These electromagnets may act upon suitable valves in the manner to open the valve when the gas density or tension within the tube to which the magnet is connected increases. Said valve may be constructed as described in my prior application for Patent #275,003, filed Aug. 21st, 1905 and may comprise simply a piece of porous material like carbon fitted into the end of a feed tube 17 joined to the tube 1 combined with a sealing liquid like mercury in which the piece of carbon is immersed in such manner that the tip of the piece is exposed by the fall in the level of the body of mercury brought about by the action of the magnet in lifting a plunger or liquid dis placer 18. These feeding devices are also located in the box or inclosure 3. In place of the particular construction of valve described, any other means may be used. The electrodes of the contiguous ends of the tubes are each preferably connected through an electromagnet 12 so that gas is fed into both of the tubes, whose ends are located in the same box. These feeding devices may be employed in every box or in alternating boxes. The connections to the electrodes are made as shown by branches from a connection leading from a supply wire or conductor, said branches being taken respectively through the e'lectromagnets to said electrodes. By this arrangement not only are all the electrical connections which carry the high potential energy protected, but an independent gas feed is provided for each ofthe two tubes having their ends in the same box so that each may be fed with gas independently of variations in the gas or vapor tension in the other.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a system of vacuum tube lighting, the combination of a sectional insulating conduit carrying supply conductors, coupling boxes coupling the sections thereof, vacuum tubes arranged end to end and hav ing their contiguous ends located in said coupling boxes and connect-ions from the supply conductor within said coupling boxes to the terminals of the vacuum tubes.

2. In a vacuum tube lighting system, the combination of a sectional insulating conduit carrying high-potential energy supply ing conductors for the tubes of the system, coupling boxes joining the sections of said conduit arranged end to end, vacuum tubes arranged end to end and with their contiguous ends located in said boxes, electro-magnetic means for feeding gas to the tubes, also located in the said boxes, and connections within said boxes from the energy supplying conductors to the tubes and to the magnets of the feeding devices.

Signed at New York in the county of New York and State of New York this 16th day of April A. D. 1906.

DANIEL MGFARLAN MOORE.

Witnesses:

C. F. TISCHNER, Jr., LILLIAN BLOND. 

